The former Cowboys player took to Twitter on Wednesday night to make it known that he finally found work saying in a video on his Twitter page, “Uh oh, it’s official.  It just went down.  I am headed back to Texas…That’s right IFL, here I come…Allen Texas I’ll see you in the end zone.”

At 38 years old Terrell Owens will join the Wranglers as not just a player, but as a part-owner of the team.  The Wrangler’s fourteen game season is scheduled to begin next on February 25th.  The team will be taking on the Wichita Wild at the Allen Event Center about 30 miles north of the Cowboys Stadium.

According to the team’s website in November, it was said that Owens would be receiving an amount between $250,000 and $500,000 for his contract with the Wranglers team.  He will also have accommodations and meals covered when with the team, which is no different than his colleagues.  Each game pays out $225 and if there is a win, there is a $25 bonus for the players.

After playing fifteen seasons and for five different teams in the NFL, Owens was unable to get a team to offer to sign him.  He even held a workout in the state of California.  It was in October of last year when the workout was televised in hopes of getting a team to sign him after he sustained an injury to his knee.  Alas, the workout being televised made no difference.  In fact, it might have caused even more drama when it was made known that on the day he scheduled the workout to be held he ended up missing a court date.  He was scheduled to appear in court regarding the payments of his child support.

Well, his drama and antics might bring some more coverage to the rarely talked about IFL.  I know we will not be missing any Owens’ drama on our televisions though.  He has caused more issues and problems than I care to think of, and while Owns might have been a good player it is difficult to remember his accomplishments.  The man’s antics stand out more.

So here it is, the reasons people allegedly hate Tim Tebow, in infographic form.  Remember, you really have to take these things with a grain of salt.   One person’s opinion of a football great does not reality make, and while I’m fairly certain this was created by more than just one person, everyone’s got an opinion, right?  So without further ado:  the reasons people hate Tim Tebow.

In a world where people are surrounded by the latest technological conveniences at all times, from adt at home to mobile data plans, people are always ready for more ways to interact with the objects of their fandoms.  That’s no different in sports than it is for movies, celebrities, and other things people tend to follow.  But just like anything good, the use of social media by players and coaches in the NFL has sometimes led to controversy and problems.  Check out the infographic below for more data:

One of the most frequent complaints from people who aren’t into soccer is that the games go on too long, and injury time is ridiculous. A quick comparison of each game might clear some of this up:  Soccer is a 90 minute game divided into two 45 minute halves– and no time outs. Football is played in four 15 minute quarters. It’s really not all that different, timewise, except that in soccer, injury time can take up about 45 minutes of a game.

In American football, the hour-long game regularly takes at least 3 hours to play. After factoring in the 3 timeouts outs allotted  per team, per half , and the timeouts for TV commercial breaks, a 15 minute quarter easily goes on for nearly half an hour.

Here is a great infographic with some comparisons between the two sports:

After the 2006 and 2010 men’s FIFA World Cups, however, the international futbol has gained tremendous popularity in the US. The problem is that no one knows who to root for. I have never lived in Pittsburgh, or anywhere near the state of Pennsylvania for that matter, but I am die hard Steelers fan by default because my dad grew up there. It is highly unlikely, actually, quite impossible, that I will ever change my allegiance during my lifetime. But when it comes to international soccer, American fans really don’t have enough connectivity to the major teams outside of the US to feel a part of an established fan base and really get into the sport. There is a sort of anarchy when it comes to American soccer fans- they don’t know who to cheer for and switch allegiances fairly easily, or have weak reasons for certain allegiances in the first place.

One of the major problems is that the overall structure of the sport is every team for themselves, and there is no single overarching league to define play. Copa America, Gold Cup, Europa Cup or Champions League all make sense to dedicated soccer fans, when trying to hook American fans in, the different leagues can be confuse and perplex a newbie.

Another reason for lackluster from the red white and blue is that we don’t understand and/or can’t relate to the stories and history of international soccer teams because we’re not familiar with the geography or the history of the regions. The epic of the NBA is the never-ending struggle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics for supreme glory, a storied rivalry that’s been around for generations. American get the Yankees-Red Sox saga, they don’t get Liverpool vs. Manchester. But as globalization and worldwide integration continues, more and more will understand and more and more will take up a side. Soccer has been cited as the sport with the most potential increase in fan base and revenue in the US, but it might take a lot greater marketing efforts and a little more time than expected to actualize that potential.

The playing field in international women’s soccer is leveling. More teams are becoming more and more competitive, while the traditional powerhouses and world leaders are having a harder time advancing. This may not be as evident when it comes to the Americans, team USA did, after all, make it to the final and almost win the whole thing a couple of times, but they did lose a game in the group stage of competition (against eventual bronze medalists Sweden) for the first time ever. Former semifinalist China didn’t even qualify for the tournament, and Norway didn’t even make it out of the group stage. And while the Americans were looking for a big year to win it all (something they haven’t done in 12 years), they just couldn’t match JApan’s technical superiority when it came down to sudden death.

During the game, there were several big goals the US ladies missed that ended up being lost golden opportunities. Because while the US women have a lot of heart and athleticism, clearly dominating Japan on the field in size and strength, the Japanese women were much better equipped to actualize their potential in front of the net by scoring when it mattered most, and, quite frankly, slaughtering the US on penalty kicks.

So next summer we have the 2012 London Olympic Games to look forward to, where the US hopes to win its fourth Gold Medal to three peat at the Olympics. But the next FIFA World Cup, still the biggest and most important soccer tournament in the world, won’t be for another four years. By then, however, you’re going to be looking at a much different team, with certain big name game changers gradually approaching the final years of their professional careers. Abby Wambach (31) scored 4 goals throughout the 2011 FIFA World Cup-the second most of any individual player in the tournament. Shannon Boxx (34) was also on the All-Star team with Wambach. Christie Rampone (36) is currently the most capped active player in the world, making more than 240 caps, and was captain of the 2008 US Women’s Soccer Gold Medal team. Lori Lindsey (31) has one of the best assists records on the team and in the world, frequently leading in assists in international tournaments. We can only hope that these mainstays are still here for the next world cup (although its hard to imagine a 40 year old defender making waves, but its still possible). Either way, unless the US Women’s Soccer team learns to improve their technique and perfect it to the level they have their athleticism (or Japan’s technique), then they might not be able to make as strong of a run next time around.

In a season of big breakthroughs, the Swedish ladies ability to push through continued to trend into their final 2011 FIFA World Cup game. The game was tied up coming into the final minutes when Marie Hammarstrom scored her first-ever goal for the Swedish national team in the 82nd minute to secure the win. Hammarstrom was a second-half substitute, but it looks like she’ll be starting a good bit more after her most recent performance. The bronze medalists were also playing a man down with only 10 on the field after a red card was issued to Josefine Oqvist in the 68th minute, but they never let that get to them: “We’re solid. We worked together. We tried to focus on that,” Swedish forward Lotta Schelin.

Now the long awaited 2011 FIFA World Cup Final will take place tomorrow as the US shoots for a record three time championship while Japan is shooting for a record first-ever Asian team win. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 2:00pm eastern time from Frankfurt, Germany. Having seen the difficult time the Swedes had with Japan, and having just lost to Sweden only two weeks ago during the group competition, the US women are getting ready for what will surely be the most challenging game they’ve played all year. Japan may have lost to the Americans twice in a four day streak earlier in the season, but they have come to the World Cup a completely new team, as shown by their utter dominance last week in the semi-finals. Having not won a World Cup since 1999, and Japan never having won, nearly all of the women on the field Sunday will be newcomers to the World Cup Final, which is bound to make a very interesting, exciting game.

Right from the beginning, the Swedes surprised the Americans with a quick, aggressive start, that took team USA a few minutes to adjust to. Until this game, the US Women had shut out streak of 8 games, starting back in March of 2010, and goalie Hope Solo was well on her way to an 800 minute scoreless streak. But the iron wall of US defense was smashed in the 14th minute, snapping Solo’s un-scored-on line at 796 minutes, when Lisa Dahlkvist took advantage of her penalty kick by sweeping the ball out to the left side of the net, just beyond Solo’s reach. Despite the fact that the Americans are ranked #1, are the defending World Cup Champions and two-time defending Olympic Gold Medalists, they have struggled a lot recently and are looking to regain their swagger not only for this year’s FIFA World Cup, but also for next year’s London Olympic Games, so they can continue their world dominance.

Part of the reason for their dominance on the soccer field is their physical size, which very few countries internationally can match up to. The Swede women are of just a few nationalities that can compete with the US on a physical level. And it definitely showed today that the US women were not ready for that level of physicality.

Two short weeks ago on Direct TV, after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Panama, the US wasn’t even sure if they were going to make it this far. Fortunately, a win over Guadeloupe and a Panama-Canada 1-1 tie propelled bot the US and Panama into the quarterfinals, where both teams were able to advance from Washington D.C. to the semifinals and face each other once again. The US advanced by clearly defeating Jamaica 2-0, but Panama, on the other hand, was able to advance based on overall tournament series points, as they only tied El Salvador 1-1. But the rematch in Houston proved that the US was the better team in this tournament, with the US winning 1-0 over Panama and securing their spot in Pasadena to challenge the defending Gold Cup Champions in the Rose Bowl just three short days later.

The US did a good job defending against Mexico’s all star and overall CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament MVP Javier Hernandez, but the Mexican team’s other dynamic stars was what the US had no answer for. Not that focusing on Hernandez wasn’t necessary- he was the overal tournament leader, scoring seven total goals- but targeting Hernandez may have diverted US focus a little too much. Now, Mexico is automatically qualified for the 2013 Confederations Cup, which is a preview tournament to the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil.

The two US goals came from Bradley and midfielder Landon Donovan in the first 23 minutes of play, giving the US a hopeful and promising 2-0 lead. But the next four Mexican goals, two by Pablo Barrera, one by Andres Guardado, and the final game-ender by Giovani Dos Santos, went completely unanswered by the US, and the true home team came out on top. So for now, US coach Bob Bradley and his team are taking this very valuable “learning experience” to heart so that next time, maybe fans will come out to a US stadium and actually cheer for the real home team.

After a 1-1 tie game between Panama and Canada earlier that day, I watched it live and on Direct TV Tivo, the U.S. players knew that all they had to do to advance was not lose, which would be a disaster for the U.S against Guadeloupe. If Canada would have won against Panama, then the U.S. would have taken the group title, but since Canada lost its lead and allowed Panama to score a goal in the 91st minute, this was impossible. Now the U.S. will face Jamaica in Washington D.C. as the head off to the quarter finals with Panama, who will face El Salvador. Four other teams will head off to quarterfinals at New Meadowlands Stadium in New York: Costa Rica will take on Honduras and Guatemala will see how they stand up against the Mexicans. The four winners of the games will then head to Houston for the Semifinals on June 22nd, and the finalists will then face off at the Rose Bowl on June 25th for the CONCACAF Gold Cup trophy. 

But as for last night’s game, Kansas City was proud to host the event, and hopes that this means that team USA will be back more in the future. The Livestrong Sporting Park is a brand new $200 million dollar state of the art soccer stadium, featuring cutting-edge technology to maximize fan experience. The Midwest is generally not a top destination for international soccer games, but with this stadium in place in Kansas City, they hope to draw more attention to the area and bring top-quality professional matches to the soccer-starved fans in the Midwest, as well as help boost sales and drive the local economy, which has been hit just as hard as anyone else in the recent slump.

Cisco has implemented several features into the stadium to enhance fan experience. Cisco Stadium Vision and Connected Sports Solutions provide high-definition video, interactive fan services and digital content to it audience, which can reach up to 18,467 fans at soccer games and over 25,000 for concert goers and other entertainment events. Cisco has also built a high-density WiFi connection around the stadium to decrease the traffic on cell phone towers during competition and allow fans to connect to social media while at the game. With over 300 HDTVs throughout the stadium and high-definition WiFi internet capabilities, fans can connect to interactive applications almost anywhere in the stadium. As portable and continuous social media drives the force of America’s advertising and connections industries, sports and other even facilities are getting with the times to make their venues as appealing as other viewing destinations. While this may seem counterintuitive (shouldn’t the fans be focused on the game at hand rather than tweeting about it?), the energetic crowd that packed the Livestrong Sporting Park last night might prove otherwise. Hopefully the new stadium proves to be a haven for Midwest soccer fans as much as it is a haven for cutting edge technology.